Struggle with Extremism in RF - Simply Fighting against Freedom of Speech

In 2009 70 journalists were killed all over the world. It's more than ever for those 30 years that gathering of this data has been carrying out, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) - international organisation which is based in New York - confirms. It's stated in the report "Attacks on press in 2009" which has been just published by CPJ.

Previous sad record was established recently, in 2007: 67 of killed journalists, but it remained not for long, in particular because in 2009 there was a slaughter on Philippines in which 31 representative of press died at once, BBC makes comments on the news.

Russia, according to the Committee, is on the fourth place in the world by quantity of journalists killed and on the ninth on number of undiscovered murders of journalists. Since 2000, it's stated in the report of organisation, 19 journalists were killed "in revenge for their professional work. Killers were punished only in one case".

"In July, 2009 president Dmitry Medvedev declared that it's necessary to bring the killers of journalists to account, - the Committee to Protect Journalists reminds. - However neither on the Moscow streets, nor in restless Chechen Republic and Dagestan rough validity has been changed. In 2009 at least three journalists were killed in connection with their professional work".

Authors of the document paid special attention to the hardest conditions in which representatives of press criticizing the Kremlin work.

- I would like to note essential role of relations between mass-media and the state, first of all with repressive bodies of the state - the Ministry of Internal Affairs, FSB, Office of Public Prosecutor and courts in the destiny of press, - editor-in-chief of FORUM.msk Anatoly Baranov noted. - Those relations for last 20 years passed three essential stages: Soviet, Post-Soviet and conditionally "Putin" - conditionally because it has begun at Yeltsin and hasn't ended at Medvedev. The Soviet period was notable for inclusiveness of the journalist, especially the party one, into state structure - it was "state person" allocated with certain serious functions and powers. The Soviet journalist was not free in the creative plan but he was needed by the state and protected by it. Often a lot depended on his opinion - let's say, special correspondent of "Pravda" at arrival into union republic was met by the secretary of the Central Committee, while the head of department - by the first secretary, that is the head of the republic. It, as a matter of fact, was inspector from centre. Naturally, representatives of "bodies" were even afraid to approach such person. It's possible to say that the Post-Soviet period began with acceptance of the first Law on press when the concept "body" began vanishing in the past, mass-media began to belong to journalistic collectives and the journalist as if passed from state service - to public service. While the state somehow took society into consideration, the status of the journalist continued to be high, repressive functions of the state concerned the journalist only in small degree - though first loud murders of journalists - Dmitry Holodov, Vlad Listeva and so on under the list - took place during that period. Basically such relations of the state and press could be considered normal and if with a current of years they would become steady, civil society would receive really operating "fourth power".

"The third period of relations of the state and the journalist characterized by the lowered status of trade and special attention to it of repressive bodies was formed gradually, in bowels of the Post-Soviet period, - Anatoly Baranov continued. - "The first call" sounded in October, 1993 when censorship was restored and newspapers began to appear with "holes" on the strips instead of the removed texts. Then there was closing of some newspapers which took position on the side of the Supreme body of RSFSR or simply gave disloyal coverage of the events, as belonging to us newspaper "Stupeny". Approximately a year later "journalistic outlaws" started scraping, Yeltsin state made decision to transfer mass-media from the property of labour journalistic collectives - to different oligarchs. Berezovsky received First Channel and "Independent Newspaper", Potanin - "Komsomol Pravda" and "News", Gusinsky - NTV and the newspaper "Today" with magazine "Itogy" and so on. Naturally, the journalist ceased to be independent and simply a little bit significant figure. Mass-media had "owners" and the journalist acquired the honourable right either to bark as the "owner" would say or to stay without work. Readers quickly understood it, circulations of newspapers and magazines fell approximately 10 times and influence of the journalist on society and state became conditional - but the status of "the owner of discourse" grew.

- With Putin's arrival to power the state in general was fenced off from society by OMON and other similar structures, - Anatoly Baranov finished. - Impulses going "from the bottom to the top" ceased to be taken into consideration, it became interested in "centrifugal" orders which the state gave to society. Leading mass-media again appeared under the state control even if formally they remained "oligarchic" but the role of the journalist as "state person" was not restored - it continued to remain small bootlicker in other's hands. Independent journalism was quite frankly declared analogue of antistate activity and Putin's state started war with it. The Kremlin managed to sibjugate even foreign mass-media, such as "Russian BBC" and radio "Freedom", not to mention oppositional "Tomorrow" and "Pravda" or imitation-oppositional "New Newspaper" and "Echo of Moscow" - look at the owners and all becomes clear. All oppositional media passed to Internet, where they continue their existence on the verge of survival - as report of CPJ marks, in more than a half of cases that were Internet journalists who were pressed. The rests of independent printing mass-media such as Mukhin's "Duel" or "Limonka" of forbidden NBP are in a stage of permanent mopping ups. Medvedev's board does not give any positive impulses - journalists are still not looked upon as people and those who wish to be considered person are being quickly put into place. Today independent journalist in Russia is a turncoat, social misfit, dangerous outcast and extremist. It is a state policy and not misunderstanding.